PH Specialty Reservations

[BigIslandersFan]

How hard is it to get more than your allotted 2 specialty dining reservations when you are in a PH? Going on the Sirena. Thanks!

[pinotlover]

1.  Ask your Butler to do it for you. It improves your odds.

 

Now for the reality check. The actual answer varies tremendously based on information you didn’t supply. The length of the cruise matters a lot. Everyone aboard is entitled to one reservation in each of the two restaurants. If it is only a 7 day cruise, there won’t be a lot of extra reservations available. Chances therefore increase as length of cruise increases.

 

2. As with any Specialty’s reservation , flexibility matters. If you will only accept a two top at 6:30, versus sharing at a later time, your odds decrease significantly.

 

3. The very top suites get what they want when they want. So their choices affect the availability of you getting more reservations. Though some PHer eat all their dinners in a Specialty, it’s a rarity. Extra reservations are given on two basis. First, cabin level, second frequency of use. If you’ve already had an extra reservation and another PH guest has not, they will be prioritized over you.

 

4. We were told by a senior staff member that on a typical evening ( not first nor last night), about 40% of the guests dine in one  of the Specialties. This is the case regardless of class of ship. Therefore how full the ship is matters, the dining capacity does not drop because there are fewer passengers! 
 

Therefore, if you are flexible, reasonable with the number of requests, and nice to your Butler you should have no problems getting an extra reservation or two.

Edited January 5, 2020 by pinotlover

[Paulchili]

Don’t forget that as a PH occupant you may dine ensuite from the specialties every night  - if you wish.

[Mura]

Another factor is what percentage of passengers actually want extra reservations.  People like DH and I aren't all that interested in extra reservations and never have been.  There were even cruises once upon a time when we didn't use all of our guaranteed reservations.  Some cruises you have a LOT of people who want as many extras as they can get whereas on others it will be much easier.

 

Agree that asking your butler to help you out (assuming you're in a PH or above) increases your chances.  We had a butler on one cruise (I forget the length of the cruise but it was probably on the order of 14-18 days) who without our asking booked a specialty every night of the cruise ... we ended up cancelling most of those.

 

Mura

 

 

[Roccaforte]

On a seven day cruise on Riviera our butler got us additional specialty reservations - provided we were willing to share at a table for six.  This was fine with us.  On Insignia - also a seven day cruise our butler was unable to get any additional reservations for us.   Happily, we like the Terrace Cafe and their grilled lobster tails.  The nights we dined in the GDR were also very good.

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, BigIslandersFan said:

How hard is it to get more than your allotted 2 specialty dining reservations when you are in a PH? Going on the Sirena. Thanks!

if over a  7 to 10 day cruise....easy.   Just check each day and be flexible  willing to share.   Too, when the seas become the least rolly.... cancellations and no shows come in droves   Do not sweat it...  You may discover Terrace is a superior option .( 

[Clutj]

Our butler was an excellent server when we did room service from the Specialties; and that doesn't count as one of your reservations...  Also you don't pay the $25 corkage fee if you've brought your own wine along.  We mixed food from two of the restaurants; but I hear that depends on whether your butler will work at it...

[Paulchili]

38 minutes ago, Clutj said:

We mixed food from two of the restaurants; but I hear that depends on whether your butler will work at it...

It’s easier to do on R ships as the two restaurants share the kitchen (or on O ships mixing Polo & Toscana for same reason).

Mixing Polo with RG or Jacques on O ships is a different challenge for the butler.

[pinotlover]

12 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

It’s easier to do on R ships as the two restaurants share the kitchen (or on O ships mixing Polo & Toscana for same reason).

Mixing Polo with RG or Jacques on O ships is a different challenge for the butler.

We have never had a Butler, including Churchill, that would mix kitchens for en-suite dining. The OP is on Sirena, which is a single Specialty kitchen ship, so they will have lots of options with both RG and Tuscan Steak coming out of that single kitchen.

 

What the Butler’s May do for their OS or VS cruisers may well be different than what they will do for the PHs were in the OP is cruising. Apples and oranges on many levels.

 

Attempts at mixing kitchens for en-suite is both against published policy and also most likely inconsiderate. First and foremost you don’t know how many other en-suites they may be doing that evening since a Butler is now covering 16 cabins. Additionally expecting the Butler to deliver hot food from multiple locations and kitchens that are not coordinated is foolish.

[AtA]

A butler covers 16 cabins??? That's a bit much!

[Mura]

8 hours ago, Roccaforte said:

On a seven day cruise on Riviera our butler got us additional specialty reservations - provided we were willing to share at a table for six.  This was fine with us.  On Insignia - also a seven day cruise our butler was unable to get any additional reservations for us.   Happily, we like the Terrace Cafe and their grilled lobster tails.  The nights we dined in the GDR were also very good.

We've had some delightful meals with a table for 6 when none of us knew the others.  I suppose you could say that the odds are safer, perhaps, that you'll find compatible souls when you are 6 or 8 as opposed to when you are just 4.  That being said, the worst we've had with another couple (when we didn't know each other) was that we weren't really sympatico with each other ... but that didn't mean that we had a terrible dinner.  At least from OUR standpoint we did not.

 

On evening which I still treasure was with a table for 6 when we were ALL musicians ... so we had a lot in common.  It was a spectacular evening.  Topped off with one member's birthday cake ...